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Special Collections
Kristy Sorensen, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Convener

MEMBERS PRESENT

• Kristy Sorensen, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary 
(Convener)

• David Buresh, Virginia Theological Seminary
• Clay-Edward Dixon, Graduate Theological Union
• Indira Douglas, New Brunswick Theological Seminary
• Christina Gather, New Brunswick Theological Seminary
• Liz Leahy, Azusa Pacific Seminary & University
• Patrick Milas, New Brunswick Theological Seminary
• Brian Shetler, Princeton Theological Seminary
• Armin Siedlecki, Emory University

AGENDA 

Meeting agenda and summary of discussion.

1) Introductions
2) Reflections on Atla in Long Beach (or virtual Atla)

a) Congratulations to Liz Leahy and the Local Host 
Committee for putting on a great conference.

b) Almost all the sessions were recorded, and they will be 
posted in 4-6 weeks. Links will be on Sched when avail-
able and an email will go out to registrants. 

c) Several people noted that the sessions on AI were par-
ticularly helpful, especially the Saturday workshop. 
Attendees learned about the many different AI pro-
grams that all do different things and got ideas for how 
AI may be incorporated into the work of theological 
librarianship. 

d) While there were many great sessions, three were 
called out as being particularly helpful -- Beyond Mere 
Denominationalism in Atla: Exploring Ways to Enhance 
Professional Development and Resource Sharing 
in Theological Librarianship; Discard to Discovery: 



Interest Group Reports  19

Empowering Majority World Theology Libraries 
Through Book Donations; and Tools and Technology for 
Teaching the History of the Book at a Theological Library.

3) Round Robin reports (see below)
4) Review last year’s work:

a) Our primary achievement over the past year was reviv-
ing the Special Collections Interest Group discussion list 
with the help of Alexis Weiss at Atla. We used the list 
to share professional development opportunities and 
news of interest, and as a place to ask questions and start 
conversations.

5) Ideas for this coming year
a) Add a co-convener? This could help distribute the work-

load and create a built-in succession plan. In the past, 
this group has had a co-convener model, but it fell off 
during the pandemic. All agreed that it is worth trying 
again. Will post to the discussion list asking for volun-
teers to open the opportunity beyond just those on the 
call.

b) Encourage people to submit a proposal that would be 
“sponsored” by the special collections interest group. The 
discussion list would be a good avenue for encouraging 
people to present on special collections topics or to build 
a panel on a theme. 

c) Work with the conference planning committee for next 
year’s meeting in Pittsburgh to include a workshop 
option on a rare books and manuscripts topic. Liz notes 
that an instructor from the Rare Books School may be 
willing to travel to Pittsburgh to give an abbreviated 
workshop-length instruction on rare books for theologi-
cal librarians. In the past, workshops on book repair and 
preservation have been popular.  

d) Brainstorm possible excursions relating to special col-
lections in conjunction with the Atla Annual meeting in 
Pittsburgh in 2025. The conference hotel is within walk-
ing distance of Duquesne University, which may have 
some interesting collections. Could also do a walking 
tour of historic churches near the hotel. It was noted that 
any excursion ideas should be solidified early enough to 
be added to the schedule and clearly communicated to 
attendees so they can plan to arrive in Pittsburgh early 
enough to attend. The cost of transportation will also be a 
deciding factor.



20    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

6) Other items
a) Brian Shetler noted that the Rare Books and Manuscripts 

Section (RBMS) will be held at Yale next year with a 
focus on the repatriation of collections. A call for papers 
is coming out soon, and Brian is on the organizing 
committee.

b) Brian also reports that he has a chapter titled “The 
Changing Realities of Special Collections and Archives: 
Facing the Future with Confidence” in Personalizing 
the Pandemic: Experiences of Theological & Religious 
Studies Librarians During COVID-19, an Atla Open Press 
title.

c) Q&A:

• Q: Should scanned archival photographs be 
cleaned up using Photoshop (damaged cor-
ners, ink markings, etc.)? If so, should you keep 
both copies? A: In general, we only clean up 
to adjust contrast/color balance. The goal is to 
make the scan look like the photo. Damage and 
markings on the original may be of interest to 
researchers. Clean-up also takes a lot of time. If 
you adjust the settings on the scanner or even 
just lay white paper behind the photo you can 
quickly correct many issues with contrast or 
color balance. Occasionally digital clean-up is 
warranted (for example, if a photo is being used 
in an exhibit or publication). In those cases, you 
should also keep the original scan. 

• Q: What kind of security is recommended for 
exhibit cases? They are heavy, but not locked, 
and are kept in a public and not-always-staffed 
area. A: Locks are important when cases aren’t 
in restricted areas. Some exhibit cases can be 
retrofitted to add a lock. Alternatively, you 
could use facsimiles in the case rather than 
originals. 

7) Adjourn



Interest Group Reports  21

YEAR IN REVIEW

Highlights and/or summary of your group’s activities over the past 
year.

• No specific activities this past year. 

ROUND ROBIN REPORTS 

Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary – In January 2024, upon 
the retirement of Timothy Lincoln, the archivist, Kristy Sorensen, 
was appointed the Associate Dean of Library & Learning Services. 
Rodrigo Leal, who previously served as the Learning Technologies 
Librarian, was appointed the Learning Technologies Librarian & 
Archives and Records Manager. Prior to his work as the Learning 
Technologies Librarian, Rodrigo served as a part-time Archives 
Assistant at the Austin Seminary Archives. Recently, we digitized 
and posted 55 issues of the Unánimes newsletter (1979-1999) to the 
Austin Seminary Digital Collections (https://austinseminarydigital.
org/collections/show/81).  Unánimes was a publication by the Mexican 
American Coordinating Council (MACC), later the Hispanic American 
Ministries Council (HAMC). Both groups were a part of the Synod 
of the Sun (PCUSA), formerly Synod of Red River (PCUS) and Synod 
of the Sun (UPCUSA). 

Azusa Pacific Seminary & University – Staff have finished digitizing 
just about everything in the extensive Henrietta Mears collection and 
are working on metadata for the digitized files. They will be using 
JSTOR as their institutional repository. Two films about Henrietta 
Mears will be coming out this year and the filmmakers used mate-
rial from Azusa’s collections. Unfortunately, staff cuts (including the 
lead special collections librarian & archivist) have necessitated the 
closure of special collections and archives for the foreseeable future.

Emory University, Candler School of Theology – Church historian 
Jonathan Strom, a big supporter of special collections and archives, 
was recently named the new Dean of the Candler School of Theology. 
Work continues processing a large English Bible collection, and they 
have recently acquired a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle, one of 
the most famous early printed books, which has been featured in 
a recent exhibit.

https://austinseminarydigital.org/collections/show/81
https://austinseminarydigital.org/collections/show/81


2 2    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

Graduate Theological Union – The library continues to collaborate 
with the Internet Archive to digitize and provide access to library 
material that would not fit in their reduced footprint, and recently 
they have expanded that collaboration by becoming an Internet 
Archive scanning center. Archives and rare book material that had 
been temporarily stored off-site have been returned in good shape. 
They have recently received a large donation of religiously associ-
ated artwork and are in the process of creating a teaching museum 
for the history of sacred art. 

New Brunswick Theological Seminary – It has been a delightful 
and eventful year at the Gardner A. Sage Library – in person and 
online. In February, Sage Library welcomed the new Archivist of 
the Archives of the Reformed Church in America, Dr. Elizabeth 
Pallitto. And in November, Indira Douglas was promoted to Access 
Services and Reference Coordinator. Library staff have enjoyed 
several important projects to date. Technical Services Librarian and 
Archivist Christina Geuther migrated our archives inventory from 
MS Access to Excel to facilitate ingesting metadata for recent dona-
tions. We received a donation of rare books and papers belonging to 
J. van Kuiken, a Reformed pastor who was chaplain to Queen Juliana 
of the Netherlands. He was instrumental in Dutch immigration to 
Canada and the growth of the Reformed Church throughout Canada.

Most of Sage Library’s off-site collection has now been entrusted 
to the Internet Archive for digitization, perpetual hosting and access. 
Over-sized, antique folios returned to New Brunswick for further 
review by library staff and faculty. We were able to cull some of 
the 19th-century biblical language dictionaries and lexicons to 
make space available both for the Presidential Papers of Rev. Dr. 
Norman Kansfield, President Emeritus of New Brunswick Theological 
Seminary, and the women’s history collections of Mary Kansfield. 

Producers of the PBS show Finding Your Roots contacted the 
Archives of the Reformed Church in America for records pertaining 
to an ancestor of writer and actor Lena Dunham. The RCA Archives 
had received the seventeenth-century record books of the Collegiate 
Church in December of 2022, which were photographed and used for 
research for the episode. Dunham’s paternal eighth great-grandfather, 
Stephanus van Cortlandt, was a significant figure in the early his-
tory of New York City and became the first native-born mayor of 



Interest Group Reports  23

New York. The episode “In the Blood”, which aired on April 2, 2024, 
explored Cortlandt’s legacy-- including his dealings with the Lenape 
tribe and involvement in slavery.

Princeton Theological Seminary – The archives has been receiving 
some big donations and making process on processing with a small 
but mighty staff. Recently processing of the Prathia Hall papers was 
completed, and work is wrapping up on a collection focused on theol-
ogy and UFOs from alumnus Barry H. Downing. The library recently 
installed new state-of-the-art exhibit cases thanks to a grant from 
the board, and the inaugural exhibit honored their new president, 
Jonathan L. Walton, along with a history of the presidency at the 
seminary. A crew from a Vietnamese TV network visited the archives 
recently to film for an upcoming show on Thich Nhat Hahn, who 
was an alumnus of Princeton Theological Seminary.

Virginia Theological Seminary – Dr. Mitzi Budde, the head librar-
ian for the last 33 years, is retiring in July and will be succeeded by 
Dr. Joseph Thompson, a current faculty member at VTS, in August. 
David Buresh will continue as the Rare Books Curator, having learned 
a great deal about the collection and about rare books from Dr. 
Budde. They are working to preserve, curate, and provide scholarly 
access to 6,500 rare books that were recently transferred to Virginia 
Theological Seminary from the General Theological Seminary in 
New York, as part of an affiliation between the two seminaries. The 
books include incunabula, as well as many early English Bibles and 
a fine collection of Early English Theology books (1522-1700). They 
are looking forward to featuring the collection in future exhibits.


